Subtle Love Triangle #2
“Sehwa.” A female classmate waved her hand right in front of Sehwa’s face.
“.....”
No reaction at all. The classmate raised her voice.
“Sehwa!”
“Huh...? Oh? What?” She startled, snapping back to attention.
Her classmate looked at her with genuine worry. “Are you really okay? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital or something?”
“I... I’m fine.”
“I called you yesterday and you didn’t pick up. I was so worried. After what that giant-headed monster did...”
“Sorry... My head was completely somewhere else...”
After speaking, Sehwa glanced back at me where I sat behind her. She wasn’t spacing out because she had nearly died. What weighed on her mind was the immoral thing we had done together at dawn. The fact that she had shared a long, deep kiss with another man even though she had a boyfriend.
After letting out a soft moan, Sehwa had pulled away and apologized to me over and over, saying she had to leave. I had simply looked at her with an expression that said I didn’t know what to do with myself and handed her the blanket, pillow, and air freshener. This morning when we came to school together, she hadn’t said a single unnecessary word to me. I did the same—only speaking when necessary.
Complicated, isn’t it? Of course it’s complicated.
Sehwa had always been upright. She had never done anything like this before, never even thought about it. The guilt must be crushing her right now... Still, eventually she would come to enjoy this immoral behavior. Besides, she didn’t particularly blame me. The kiss had been something she herself had wanted.
The female classmate spoke with a pitying look. “I guess that makes sense... So you’re staying at a temporary place for now?”
“Huh...? No, that’s not...” Sehwa made an awkward face. She couldn’t exactly say I had given her the studio apartment for free.
The classmate took her reaction and ran with her own misunderstanding. After telling her it was fine, that she didn’t have to say anything, and that she was sorry, the girl returned to her seat.
Watching Sehwa fidget restlessly, I thought of the naive Yu Seunghyeon. In the end, he never came to my studio. Why? Because Marcela had her manager give him a room at the hotel.
The order I had given Marcela yesterday was simple: raise Yu Seunghyeon’s salary and increase his working hours so he would rot away there. The ridiculously gullible Yu Seunghyeon had actually thanked her profusely. As a result, he was now eating and sleeping at the hotel until his house was repaired.
Of course I had personally told him to come to my place, but was I crazy enough to throw away the chance to be alone with Sehwa? It had only been a polite formality from the start. Now Yu Seunghyeon would find it even harder to see Sehwa. After all, the operating hours of the nightlife district had been greatly extended.
The entire university was buzzing with talk of yesterday’s incident. And it wasn’t just the university. Korea, East Asia—indeed, the whole world—was filled with stories of monsters and the sky-blue flash. All kinds of scholars came forward to debate, but no real conclusions were reached. They simply piled conjecture on top of conjecture.
With their current technology, they would never be able to uncover my secret base in Antarctica, the portal that had appeared in the sky, or the true nature of the demonic beasts that would soon begin to emerge.
Still, it’s pretty ruthless. They didn’t even close the school.
It was possible because although there were injured students from Korea University who lived in that area, none had died. If even one person had been killed, they would have held a memorial and canceled classes.
Regardless of what had happened yesterday, time in the world kept flowing. People continued to live their busy daily lives. I just had to live mine as well.
When a professor with a complicated expression entered the lecture hall, I opened my book.
“None of the Future Science students were injured, right? Seeing that everyone’s attendance is marked, it seems you’re all okay?”
“Yeees...” The students answered without energy.
The professor let out a small sigh. “I know the atmosphere is chaotic... but let’s begin class. There are still no clear answers, so let’s quietly wait and see. Now, page 126...”
After afternoon classes ended, Sehwa had already left after texting me that she would go on ahead. It seemed she still hadn’t sorted out her feelings.
I turned down my classmates’ invitation to grab a drink and talk about yesterday’s events, saying I was sorry. Instead, I stopped by a snack shop, packed some tteokbokki, and returned to the studio apartment. On the top floor—floor 25—I ran into Sehwa. It wasn’t intentional. She just happened to be talking to Yu Seunghyeon on the phone in the hallway.
When she saw me, she told him, “Ah, something just came up... I’ll call you later. Work hard.”
“Got it. Things are about to get busy soon, so I probably won’t be able to talk until morning.” Yu Seunghyeon’s voice came through the receiver.
What an idiot... How can someone that naive possibly be Sehwa’s partner?
From his calm tone, it seemed Sehwa hadn’t told him about the dawn kiss incident.
“Okay. Then tomorrow morning... call me when you have time. Yeah... I love you too.”
A person’s heart is clearly revealed in their voice. The same was true for Sehwa right now. In the past she would have said “I love you” to Yu Seunghyeon without hesitation, but now she had stammered.
Of course, that didn’t mean she loved me. She had simply remembered what happened at dawn, and since I was nearby, she had become self-conscious. However, the fact that Sehwa liked me had not changed. The Device had proven it.
After ending the call with a troubled expression, Sehwa approached me and asked, “Did the Doctor contact you?”
“No. You?”
“I called and she said to rest well today. She’ll come pick us up soon. She wants you to stand by too. And... since monsters might appear... um... never mind, it’s nothing.”
I could easily guess the rest. She had probably been told to sleep with Yu Seunghyeon to recharge the Device’s energy. That was impossible.
“I see... I’m looking forward to it.”
“To seeing those cutting-edge machines?”
“Yeah.”
“Such a machine fanatic. What’s that in your hand?”
“This... tteokbokki. I got it for you...”
Sehwa let out a weak laugh. It was a complicated smile—absurd, grateful, and apologetic all at once. I simply rolled my lips around.
When her laughter finally subsided, I apologized. “I’m sorry.”
Sehwa looked puzzled. “Huh? For what...?”
“For what I did to you at dawn...”
“Wait... just a second! Let’s go inside and talk. That’s why I was waiting for you.”
“Then why didn’t you just stay in your room...? You could have called and met me there.”
She wasn’t going to suggest going out, was she? Fortunately, her next words confirmed that my worry had been unfounded.
“I wanted to talk face to face. Should we talk at your place...? No, at my place? Do you have time?”
I had confirmed that Rose was working hard before bed last night, and Yuria hadn’t shown any strange behavior either. Since it was time to focus on conquering Sehwa... it was only right to make time. Even if I had none, I would create some.
“Sure. But right now?”
“If you go drop off your bag... Never mind, let’s just talk at your place.”
Is that okay? Yesterday’s events will probably keep flashing through your mind. Well, if that’s what you want, I’m more than happy.
“Alright.”
I nodded, swiped my card to open the door, and let Sehwa in first. While I set my bag on the sofa, she naturally took the tteokbokki and headed to the kitchen.
“Can I take out some plates?”
“Of course. Take a few with you when you leave.”
“No need. I bought some on my way here today.”
With the experience of living alone for a long time, Sehwa skillfully set the table. Well, “skillfully” just meant putting the tteokbokki on plates and placing forks on both sides, but she was quick about it. I took out some soda, handed it to her, and sat down.
Sehwa picked up her fork and cutely tapped it a few times. Taking that moment, I said, “Sorry it’s not the creamy one. They were sold out.”
“It doesn’t matter at all. We can go eat together later. Here, you eat first.”
Together... Yeah, together sounds good.
Sehwa stabbed a piece of tteokbokki and held it out to me. I hesitated for a moment before accepting it. She smiled brightly and brought her own piece to her mouth. The way she chewed was incredibly pretty.
We ate in silence, focusing only on the food. Since I had only bought one serving, the tteokbokki disappeared quickly. After drinking the soda, Sehwa let out a bright “Kya!” at the tingling sensation rising from her throat. Then she stared straight at me. I lowered my gaze.
After a moment of silence, Sehwa called my name.
“Jihyeok.”
I couldn’t help but look up in surprise. Her voice was trembling as if she were about to cry. And indeed, tears were streaming down her face—quite a lot of them.
“I don’t have the courage... I’m sorry... Sob!”
Courage... Did she mean she didn’t have the courage to coldly reject me? Or the courage to mention what happened at dawn? The former seemed unlikely. So it must be the latter... but just to be sure, I would test the waters.
“If it’s better for you, you don’t have to say anything. We can just ignore it and go back to how we were.”
“Is that... really okay...?”
Seeing her respond like that, I knew it was the latter. She was afraid of growing distant from me.
I gave Sehwa a warm smile. “Of course. I’ll follow your wishes. You can tell me when you find the courage later.”
At those words, Sehwa’s face filled with relief. I reached out and gently covered her delicate hand resting on her knee. It was the kind of skinship couples would do. Yet Sehwa remained still. No—she turned her palm over and clasped my hand instead. She even interlocked our fingers.
In that instant, an overwhelming sense of ecstasy surged through my entire body. The thrill was so intense I could barely stop myself from smiling. The corners of my mouth crept upward. I barely managed to mask it as a benevolent smile.
“Shall we talk about something else?”
Sehwa nodded frantically while looking at me like a pure, innocent lamb. Her swollen, puffy eyes were unbearably cute.
“Yeah.”
If my past self had been desperately climbing up from the bottom of a deep abyss, my current self had now stepped onto a scale. A scale with Yu Seunghyeon on the opposite side. Of course the weight difference was still enormous, but as my weight gradually increased, the balance would eventually even out.
You love Yu Seunghyeon so much, but you don’t want to lose me either? How incredibly selfish of you, Sehwa. Can someone like you truly call herself a hero of justice, the Beast Slayer Leona?
I had said we should go back to how we were, but I had no intention of doing so. I had safely entered Dr. Cash’s laboratory without a hitch, and my plan was proceeding without issues. Now it was time to create a thread between us that could never, ever be severed. No one can forget their first partner. I would begin soon, so look forward to it. After agonizing deeply between morality and immorality, you will come to me of your own will. You have no choice.
The next day, Dr. Cash took Sehwa and me to the laboratory aboard the transport plane she had used during the Amducias incident. She then tossed me a machine of appropriate size.
“Take this apart and reassemble it too.”
This time it was an unmanned reconnaissance drone capable of real-time monitoring of human locations. I decided to take it positively. The fact that she was giving me something less dangerous than last time was proof that she was beginning to trust me.
When I started focusing, Dr. Cash took Sehwa into the same room as before. It seemed they wanted to have a secret conversation. Unfortunately for them, it was pointless. I could hear everything.
“Just wait a moment.” After Dr. Cash spoke, silence fell over the room. At the same time, a clicking sound could be heard. A little later, the Doctor asked Sehwa in a slightly flustered tone.
“Did you... do something with your boyfriend? Sleep together, or... No, judging by the charge level, that doesn’t seem to be it... Did you have some kind of physical contact?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“The energy has increased by about one percent.”
Sehwa said nothing. Dr. Cash, sounding frustrated, continued.
“This is extremely important. It’s okay, just tell me. I pride myself on keeping secrets. I absolutely will not tell anyone.”
“Well... Yes, we did.”
“Did you get a little excited at the time? You felt sexual desire, right?”
“Doctor!”
“Shh... Lower your voice. That eccentric guy might get curious.”
“Do I really have to answer...?”
Sehwa hesitated. Heh heh... I could practically see her eyes darting around, unable to decide what to do. The Doctor spoke again.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. The answer is already clear. But we may have to work together for a long time. So I’d appreciate it if you could be honest. As I said, I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”
“.... Yes. That’s right.”
“So you did get excited?”
“J-just a little... without realizing it...”
Sehwa’s creeping, shrinking voice was incredibly cute. By the way, she had lied. And it was a huge lie. Well, she would be doing it as naturally as eating from now on, so it was good practice.
I felt like thanking Dr. Cash. She had just confirmed the truth for Sehwa, who had been doubting the Device’s energy charging method.
“Understood. The energy is currently at thirteen percent, so recharge it whenever you have the chance. Otherwise, more innocent people could be sacrificed. The time you can stay transformed is extremely short. If you think you can do anything with this amount of energy, you’re mistaken.”
“Sigh...”
Even though the sense of justice she had awakened before becoming Leona was still alive, she would have no choice but to accept it. For the sake of innocent people. After letting out a long, deep sigh, Sehwa answered.
“Yes, I will. But lately I haven’t been able to meet my boyfriend much. He works all night and sleeps in the morning.”
“Wake him up and do it. If that really doesn’t work, find someone who’s compatible and...”
That damn woman... I didn’t want her interfering, so I decided to interrupt her myself. I fitted the last part of the drone and shouted loudly, cutting off the Doctor.
“Doctor! I’ve finished assembling it! Don’t you have anything else for me?”